Together We Stand
by StarfallGalaxy
Summary: His chest ached with every breath, his antennae flattened to his head as he watched the thin, almost emaciated form tower over both his and the dead frycook's body.


**A/N: Based on a dream I had**

Zim watched with rounded magenta eyes at his former boss and superior, gaping at the blooded gash that was once his throat. He clung the annoying little fuzzball called Xion to his chest, the tiny Vortian's little claws fetching into his dirty uniform and the dark coat that swirled about him in the wind like a protective shield. His boots were gone, his two toed feet ready to run if necessary over this death mine of blazing and broken ship parts. His chest ached with every breath, his antennae flattened to his head as he watched the thin, almost emaciated form tower over both his and the dead frycook's body.

The white coat that the boy wore looked particularly formless after so many memories and days of him wearing the black coat that now fell on Zim's shoulders. Dib's metallic claws, the ones that took Zim so long to create just for a damn Christmas present, now dripped with light pink blood that fizzled when it came into contact with the rain that pattered down on their heads. Zim could see himself sink to the ground, outside of himself. Everything was numb, everything but his chest where he could feel the sodden little furball but even that was dulled. Xion opened his mouth in a soundless yowl, not even the rain breaking the two lifelong rivals' concentration on one another.

Professor Membrane was behind him, he knew, just as shocked that Zim existed as Zim was that he'd just stood up to Them, let alone caused an explosion that could have possibly killed both.

Then there was the boy with the golden eyes that trained themselves on him, always watching him. He was quite thankful, suddenly, of all of those years the boy had followed him almost loyally into danger because Zim sure as hell needed the human now and he wanted someone to tell him that he was alive and the only one who had ever even seen him cry outside of GIR was this dirt-child who suddenly was holding him and-

Zim gave up right then.

He surrendered, he threw down his walls or whatever his goddamn planet called it to fucking tremble in his goddamn human's arms because that had been fucking _terrifying_. The little thing in his arms had been shrieking the whole way down, he had been dizzy from blood loss, They were about to kill him, his whole adopted family had disappeared in a matter of two seconds, he had no idea whe-

He cried.

Suddenly he was in his own body again, Dib's arms crushing him to the beating organ these Earth monkeys called a 'heart'. Xion was yowling, but more mimicking the noise Zim was making as the Irken felt some more familiar arms place themselves around his usually reluctant person. GIR's cold arms were around his leg, the little robot clinging to it almost reverently. A weight against his antennae and head alerted the little Irken that Minimoose was there, too. He felt himself calm slightly, only loosening completely when he felt the usual chill and scent of one very young, female Membrane sibling leaning against him, too. English words flooded his mind, his clicking PAK too over-heated to process them completely so it slipped out in heavily accented bursts of coherence.

_Rival, children, sister. Angry, scared, hurt…_

She was hurt, he could feel that much as she was putting way too much of her weight on the two rivals. Her arm was hanging to her side in a concerning fashion, even worse when an almost inaudible hiss slipped past her teeth when the two older teens wrapped their arms around her. Her lip was also split open, with too many bruises to count on her pretty face. Zim sighed inwardly, he would have to do make-up duty for a month after this. Girl's night (Gaz's version, anyway, which involved only video games and Zim and absolutely NO other girls) was going to be hell.

The little robots made their own sounds of distress, refusing to let go even as the other two pulled away. Zim swelled a little in pride, content that he had such a loyal Hive despite it being very unethical. Zim made very effective soldiers, thank you very much, he didn't need those lesser Irken's stupid rules, did he? After all, what other Irken could boast that his SIR could make waffles? None but Zim!

He could kind of hear GIR mumbling about Mary and waffles as he cried into his leg, the squeaky voice comforting him.

Then he rose his eyes once again to his rival, paling at the familiar gold eyes being replaced by Irken ones, still that warm gold but now hazy and focused on someone else, somewhere else. Zim's lekku flattened once more at the sight, a small voice in the back of his head sending a delicious shiver up his spine but another, saner voice screamed to run. The largest part of all, however, made him turn slowly to the man behind him. Before he could even urge the older male to run for the hills, Dib pushed past him, one arm swinging out to point a gun at the unarmed professor, growling.

Xion mewled against the Irken's chest, kneading him with his little claws. Dib paused, a shudder rippling through him before he dropped his gun on the ground, walking away from the trembling professor. Zim gave his own shaking breath, sinking against the human's chest to quietly pass out from exhaustion, his dreams full of a little dork in rounded glasses laughing as Zim ran from his sleeping cuffs.


End file.
